Talons of a Mountain
by RappinQueen
Summary: Shan-Yu has invaded China. The emperor scrambles to gather his forces. Retired General Fa Zhu answers the call to advise Li Shang. A smirk drenched in shadow glistens in the torchlight. Mulan does exist in this realm, but not as a member of the Fa family. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. M for foul language, gore, and adult themes.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan or any characters from Disney.**

**Servus beloved readers, (The German Aloha) I am back after two longs with my inspiration rekindled. ****I am a web navigator, one point of the story may take me anywhere from five hours to a month to iron out. I have warned you and before the waiting starts as I know there shall be at least one point where a hiatus occurs, it is regrettably inevitable, I apologize for the inconvenience. **

**Web Mapping: A single thread of an idea that is the very base of the story it inspires. The single** **thread branches out to make a web of ideas for the tale. Each point of the fable that seem important enough to conjure numerous reactions spring away from the web mother and make their own webs beginning at their point of origin due to both the web mother and its firstborn beginning in the same way. The web mother grows and more offspring are from varying points. When the web mother is finally finished, anywhere from three to ten webs can be born from her.**

**The web navigator is** **a person who navigates the web mother's depths and that of her offspring to discover the preferred** **path(s).**

* * *

Somewhere past the wall in the Han interior

_'You must have grown comfortable for your defenses to be this lax, old_ man._ I'm going to memorize every facet of your fear when I kill you.' _The Shan-Yu grins viciously as he scratches his beard watching the fire thrash on the ground as his most loyal men discuss strategies. A weary eye wanders over the sons of the clan chiefs that swore allegiance to his daring venture six months ago. '_Now where do your liberties lie?' _His thoughts were interrupted by a firm hand squeezing his arm. He turns his attention to his archer and the man continues his thoughts. He chuckles to himself at the pleasant notion that in a fortnight he will be holding a spear with the emperor's impaled on it. Soon his vengeance will be realized.

* * *

A sight common in this ancient landscape, the village pulses with activity in the center and is surrounded by farms on all sides. The largest farm belongs to the Li family. The runner-up is owned by the Fa family. They are families with long histories of military service in the imperial army, however, both households are not equal.

The Li family is filled with delightful noise. General Li Huang has been blessed with three sons. His eldest son, Shang, and his two brothers were born of his first wife who died bringing her last son into this world. His second wife perished giving birth to his fifth daughter, who was ill at birth and joined her mother in nirvana after three days. He smiles at the hope that with any luck, he will be given the honor of dying honorably on the battlefield before his daughters are old enough for men to call on them. He regrets the probability of bringing severe harm to any potential son-in-laws but the momentary lapse dissolves after a moment. The grin grows with renewed strength as he watches his eldest teach his brothers combat and his mother teaches the girls how to sew their brothers' clothes.

The Fa household is far calmer. Fa Zhu, the family head, unlike the fellow general who lives at his left is retired. A leg injury sever enough to cause a painful limp from a battle fought twenty years ago and an twenty-five year old injury to his abdomen is responsible for the current tranquility in his life. If it weren't for his mother, wife, and the servants that visit him to report the status of his crops, he would have lived in solitude. In some ways, he already is. He would never admit such cruelty to her, but his wife is not the joy of his life, though he had come to appreciate her presence more after his retirement. He regretted admitting this fact once more as he gazed at the quiet stream that ran through his property. He should enjoy her as much as she seemed to love him but he could not bring himself to do so. She had given him five sons but the youngest who were triplets died the day they were born. He knew he shouldn't be angry and that he shouldn't have blamed her for their death but he could not bring himself to do so. His eldest son Ping would be forty now and Chu thirty-seven. He imagined the beautiful wives they would have had and the mess of squealing grandchildren he would have loved to be woken by each morning. Perhaps he could have a daughter if his anger and grief had not blinded him rage that night. He could have held her in his arms and let her cry, he should have, but he could not bring himself to do so. He had to hit her and storm over to his comrade's door, nearly breaking it from its hinges he remembered, and demand to go hunting immediately.

'_What a damn fool, you have been and with nothing to show for it_.', he confessed to himself as a light touch rested on his right shoulder. He turned to see his mother's concerned face. She pointed a finger to the gate and it was then that he heard the drums. '_Perhaps I can spare her from the torment I have no doubt caused.' _He thought with a grimace as he slowly walked to the open doors with his trusty cane as horses with imperial soldiers rode into view in front of his domain. He shared a glance with Huang and both veterans shared a grimace as they returned their attention to the familiar imbecile before them that they both had wanted to strangle before. He returned his glance to Huang and gave a weak reassuring smile to combat the clear worry that mars his beloved comrade's otherwise handsome face.

* * *

Somewhere below the Forbidden City in a dimly lit maze there was two Han soldiers guarding a thick metal door that lacked a sliding door among many of the others in this realm that would have allowed them to view the contents of the room. One of them broke the silence with, ''What do you think is in there?''

''I don't care. I didn't know five minutes ago and I'm certain five minutes from now I still won't know and I still won't care to!'' The other growls.

''How certain? I mean come on, Yu! Why would we standing be here with our weapons? Why are the guards only changed on a weekly basis at this exact spot? Why can we never hear anything that goes on in there? Think about it. Something must be going on in there for the crown prince to come here regularly and why can we never hear anything? It's far too suspicious.'' The first blurts out louder than he liked.

The other man groans with every ounce of annoyance he feels for the man next to him. ''I'm not paid to care what the crown prince does with his spare time. I'm paid to guard this damn thing so I'll guard it, besides, you can't call visiting a fourth time after not bothering in fifteen years regular.'

''He's still the only-'' The inquisitive man hushes at the creak of the door and returns to standing up straight and looking ahead down the dark corridor as the door between them creaks open and the prince emerges from beyond its threshold. He acknowledges the silent man and walk down the hall out of view. ''What do you make of that? He hasn't so much as glanced at us since we-'' For a second time the inquiring mind falls silent though this time the culprit is the sword that pierces his heart.

A sickening lurch echoes off the walls as the weapon is removed from the man. ''Like I said, kid. I'm not paid to care.''

On the other side of the wall a figure uses a key to remove the shackles from her feet. _'Mother was right, men are as simple to control as breathing. Now for vengeance.' _The door creaks open and a satisfying crunch sounds as the man's neck is shoved against it. He drops to the ground lifelessly as a wicked smirk glistens in the torchlight. The figure kneels next to the guard with the broken neck and dons his uniform. A dark glow envelopes the individual and as the smirk grows slightly. _'I despise admitting the impressively extensive lengths you have gone to stop me, old man. It is rather humorous to think how you will fall by the grace of a single thread coming loose from your robes. We shall see how well they fair.' _The sinister voice laughs in the mind of the otherwise quiet culprit who hides their victims in the very room they guarded. She uses the key found in a pocket of her victim's jacket to lock them and slides it under the door. The glow fades and the woman follows the path her magic revealed moments ago.

* * *

Twelve minutes later, she curses the sun for its immediate warmth as she leaves the palace grounds. The feeling is foreign to her she finds more comfort in the shaded pathways. Gasps of horror make themselves known as her previous smirk shifts to an uneasy grimace. '_Am I really that noticeable?' _She checked to ensure that her gait and stature were the same as the soldiers passing her by and noted that while not perfect it was clearly inconspicuous, for they had not stopped to question her. She touches a hand to her face as she remembers that one of the female citizens had mentioned something about it. She freezes, on either side of her skull there were two empty holes with what feels like some manner of rust on her cheeks. '_This must be_ _the cause of their distress. Odd, how can I know something must lie within these spaces and not recall what the things were or their purpose? Stop, there is no time for pondering while freedom is just outside of my grasp.' _She uses the same dark glow under her armor to find her way beyond the city gates. '_Hm, father said there was no use for navigational magic when entries and exits are easily found. Perhaps the lack of whatever it is I suppose I have lost that makes it work__.' _She finds her way to a merchant's cart. The man asks her to be his bodyguard in the event of a bandit attack. The man retracts his offer at the point in which she guessed he had seen the gone things. An even more interesting reaction is the man's stumbled apologies and an offer to bring her home. A smile that passes as appreciative cautiously grows on her face. The man helps her into his wagon and asks the inevitable question regarding her domain and name. ''I am Ji. I know it by another name but if I am not mistaken, the people here call it Tung Shao Pass.'' She fumbled in Han from probing her mind for the correct words.

''Well you're in luck, friend. I happen to have steady business up that way and it isn't too far off from my usual route. My name is Qua Din by the way.' The mildly plump man beamed as his leathery hands brought the wagon to life with a snap of the reins. Her smile thins as she hears the noise the soldiers are making. A sigh escapes her once their yells are out of earshot with a weak prayer that her home is repaired and her people are strong and hidden from the Han.

* * *

Later that night

''I look ridiculous.'' Fa Zhu grumbles with a glare at the man assisting him with his armor.

''Nonsense, you're a general remember. How do you expect for subordinates to obey your orders if you can't command the attention of an audience by your presence alone? Besides, you haven't worn a uniform in decades you should look presentable at least.'' The mischievous general helping him with the new armor could not resist laughing at his comrade's defeated groan that is accompanied by a sour face and rolling eyes.

''The Huns have begun attacking villages near the wall. We need to send troops to meet them immediately. The villagers cannot be allowed to perish.'' General Li bellows as he marches into the emperor's throne room with his red cape swaying with each step once the emperor beckons them.

''I do not question your morals Huang, but the villages are more important than the people. I do support you in gathering troops to bolster our defenses but it would be wiser to wait for them to enter territory that gives us the advantage. Running after them will only give them the opportunity to decimate our men with the advantage of being able to choose the battlefield.'' A shiver trickles down Li Huang's spine. The warmth of the emerald cape behind does nothing to melt the ice in his brother in arms' voice and eyes.

''So you condemn them to die?'' Li growls after reminding himself how to use his voice.

''An acceptable sacrifice to spare the many.'' Fa states with the cold tone never leaving him.

''Enough!'', the emperor roars as General Li, ''Do either of you know where the Jidan princess is?''

Both men look at each other with clear confusion. ''Isn't she in her cell?'', they ask in broken unison.

''I have investigators delving into the matter but she escaped. We still do not know if she remains in the city. As you both can recall, that shamanic mother of hers was highly dangerous and her father was equally so in his ties to the Huns. I cannot accept the idea that the shamanic skill was not passed down to her as well. Thus, thousands will die by her hands, if not millions. It is imperative that if she cannot be recaptured and returned to her cell with increased defenses, mind you, then I give you the freedom to kill her on sight. General Li, you are to bring forces to meet the Huns in any way that you deem wise. General Fa, you are to oversee the new recruits training beginning with your comrade's son. After all training is complete you are to assist Li Chi-Fu will record your progress. If either of you come across anyone harboring the fugitive, bandit, Han, or otherwise and they resist her arrest, they are to be treated as accomplices. I trust your judgement. You are dismissed.'' He says in a far calmer tone than before.

Fa Zhu involuntarily winces as he and his comrade bow and exit the room. _'I am to be saddled with that? Does he think I am incapable of performing the tasks at hand? No, he is probably right. I am of more use in the field not being tied down by paperwork, yet couldn't he have chosen someone more reasonable?' _

**The Jidan are an entirely fictional ethnicity of my design. Feel free to review. I realize that the primary components remaining in this chapter are a more in-depth look at the finer details in each scene to truly place you and that of the Huns along with some telepathy toward the Shan-Yu. I know generally what I want to say but there is a proper way of maneuvering the words so that they dance along the page, cross the thresholds of your respective screens, and enter your mind to entrance you with imagining every description. Tracking the precise words is not as hard as deciphering the best shifting of them and as of now, I have yet to discover the latter. ****I will update this when i have succeeded. I blame it on the disgustingly wonderful scatterbrain that clouds my judgement and visions from otherwise glaring missing links. My ocd can help me into scanning everything that I can fathom to the brim and find the words to fix it in that moment on my own, if it wants to cooperate. I know I could also use my mother as my beta tester, but she is entirely repulsed by so much as a single bad B, S, D, or F word, to the point of only stating the letter. A single punch or kick makes her want to immediately turn away from whatever she is watching or reading. So no, as much as her weak and uproariously girly reactions would entertain me, I don't think she could withstand the 'tumultuous currents' I use in writing. She would just preach about needing to see things in a better brighter light.**

**Oh and for clarification a scatterbrain is a mind so full of ideas, imaginations, and questions to possibly remain on the same thought process for more than a few minutes, at least, that is how I have come to know it. ****Of course, I have learned how to harness all that bustling energy into focusing on studies and so forth but when my mind is not busy...it wonders in a nearly impossible speed, especially when hiding key words to detail scenes when the body beckons for memory. **While it is not a bad thing altogether it certainly doesn't help when you are trying to focus on a scene in the present and your mind jumps to the future and you eventually rein it back in returning to the present, only to be jolted into the past.


End file.
